Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-11-04

No Wonder Liquor Dealers All Grow
Rich.
"Beer? Five cents glass;"
but l don't mean that. How much
does it cost you, not how much it costs
me?"
ooh, yes! Well, young man, 1 really
don't know, and wouldn't tell if I did.
The reporter lifted himself off the bar
and foated out into the street. He was
determined to know the cost of glass of
beer if he had to tackle every barkeeper
in town. But he strolled in the wrong
direction.
Over the Rhine they don't know what
anything costs them, but they can look out
that you pay what it costs you, all the
same. The fat, red-faced bar-tenders in
that direction answered all questions with
stolid glance and some unintelligible
mutterings and rumblings somewhere in
the thorax that never reached the upper
air, and would probably have been unin-
telligible to the reporter if they had.
Hastily retracing his steps, he betook him.
self back to fashionable saloon near
Fifth street. Behind the bar stood slen-
der, oily headed youth robed in spotless
white. This piece of immaculacy answered
all questions. He probably had no interest
in the establishment, and didn't care how
mucu prOuC tley maav. 3
"A keG Ct beer, that is, what is called a
fourth, costs 50. There are on the aver
age 100 glasses to the key, counting ponies
and all. A key never costs the manufact-
urer more than 60 cents, and sometimes as
low as 40 cents"
"The breweries all make money, don't
they?"
Yes, you can't get rich when you are
0nlv MAKING S00 invook-
ment, you know"
Well, tell me about whisky; how many
drinks are there to the gallon?"
From 30 to 100. Fine whisky will
make more drinks to the gallon than poor
because it takes much less to produce the
desired effect. Now, how much do you
suppose q gallon of tirst-class whisky
costs?"
About twenty five cents gallon?" VEN
tured the reporter.
We'll not much more than that to the
manufacturer. He can make the best
whisky for 25 cents gallon, and Gov
up to $1.15. He sells this, after it has
been rectifed, for from SO to Sc or 81, ac-
cording to its age. You can get whisky
for $l.50 a gallon, but it has been rectifed
too much to count any longer as the gen.
uine article"
The reporter took out little piece of
paper and pencil, and bringing all his
arithmetic to bear, made the following CAL
culations
a barrel of beer ut cost $3.50
Il barrel of beer cost to retailer .......... 200
Profit for manufuct urer. Observation-Disclosures. LAO
LOG glasses of beer ut sc q glass. .......... 500
Cash profit to retailer. Observation-Disclosures. 800
Think how much profit there must be in
these Over-th Rhine gardens, where they
put q cuff and collar both in the beer. They
must draw $50 glasses from every key.
Now for the whisky:
One gallon OF pure whisky to retailer. S1.5O
Eighty drinks at loo drink. 500
One gallon best whisky to retailer. 500
One hundred and twenty drinks at &c.,. 1900
Profit to retailer. ..:....:.......... 1900
Talk about Doodle, why don't everybody
start q saloon? A small saloon sells five
kegs day, while garden will sell thirty
or forty. A man ought to get rich in this
business if his only customer were himself.
AS the reporter saw the bartender rake in
his hard, cold nickel, he felt as though
some one had cheated him, he didn't know
exactly who. The consumption of beer has
increased wonderfully during the past year,
and especially of bottled beer. This Last
fact may be accounted for by it's increased
use in families. So it goes on, and next
year will be better year than this. Mean
while some one is getting rich while his
beer is brewing. ITmeS- STAR